Charles de Vaulx International Value Advisers IVA money manager jumps to his suicide death after firm liquidation leaves firm going from $20 billion in assets to less than $3 billion.
A Manhattan financier jumped to his death from a skyscraper yards from Trump Tower just weeks after his assets wealth money management firm that was once worth $20 billion was liquidated.
Charles de Vaulx, 59, was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he allegedly took his own life on Monday at the company’s 10th floor offices at at 717 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
The company confirmed the financier’s death on its website, but the cause of his death was revealed by reuters. That publication reported the award-winning portfolio manager had apparently committing suicide.
The Moroccan-born financier’s death came seven weeks after the firm abruptly announced it would liquidate its funds and halt business according to barrons. It said that it had completed the liquidation on April 19.
‘It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our Chairman and CIO, Charles de Vaulx,’ the website reads.
Shakespearean tragedy
‘The entire IVA community convey their deepest sympathy to his family at this difficult time.’
De Vaulx had founded the company 14 years ago and built it up to be worth more than $20 billion in assets at its peak before it was ultimately liquidated, the New York Post reported. IVA had $863 million in total net assets at the end of 2020.
A source close to de Vaulx told the nypost that the tale of de Vaulx is ‘a Shakespearean tragedy.’
‘This is a Shakespearean tragedy on a lot of levels … ironically many of the stocks he owned have appreciated significantly in the past few months,’ the source said.
The source described the late financier as a ‘complex man with a lot of hubris.’
‘[He] felt he failed in his mission of value investing and lost his raison d’etre,’ the source added.
De Vaulx’s longtime business partner, Chuck de Lardemelle, left the company abruptly in July causing alarm for investors in the company which had been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic when investors withdrew their money.
I remember when Charles de Vaulx effectively succeeded the legendary Jean-Marie Eveillard at First Eagle Funds where they were co-managers in Dec 2004 b4 abruptly leaving circa 2 yrs later.
Truly tragic. Was the decision to shutter IVA in March 2021 part of this sad path/event?
— Ketan Vora (@KetanVora4) April 27, 2021
Hurt that investors no longer trusted him
Sources close to de Vaulx said he was hurt when some investors no longer trusted him with their money despite being worth millions of dollars.
The firm’s assets had shrunk to $3 billion shortly before it was abruptly closed last month as value stocks got pummeled by the pandemic, which boosted growth stocks.
‘It was never about the money,’ one person close to de Vaulx told the outlet. ‘IVA was an embodiment of de Vaulx’s personality and when it began to unwind, he took it personally.’
De Vaulx was a protégé of legendary investor Jean-Marie Eveillard and had founded IVA after abruptly leaving the firm First Eagle.
Having emerged from Eveillard’s shadow, de Vaulx had wanted to be a legend in his own right according to sources.
Known as a value manager who favored undervalued and unloved stocks, de Vaulx was named Morningstar’s International Stock Manager of the Year in 2001 along with Eveillard – his long-time mentor. He was a runner-up for the same prize in 2006.
De Vaulx leaves behind a wife and two children.
